THE BUZZ: Legendary Nintendo game creator Shigeru Miyamoto has announced that he’s retiring from his current position at the company—but don’t panic, Nintendo faithful. It’s not as bad as it sounds.

As reported by Wired just a short time ago in an exclusive interview, Miyamoto has announced that he will be stepping down from his current position as the supervisor for major Nintendo projects like Super Mario 3D Land and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and instead will take a more “personal” role at the company.

Miyamoto stated that his hope was to get back to doing more actual game design, which would mean either working on smaller projects with some of the younger developers at the company, or even making games that he could create completely on his own.

EGM’s TAKE: While it sound like a drastic move, it may actually be a very positive thing for both Miyamoto and Nintendo. Big franchises like Mario and Zelda will continue on with no problem, so why not let him get back to making games which can take more risks and try out new ideas?

Plus, this announcement ties into something else: Miyamoto states that he wants to make sure the various other developers at Nintendo don’t always expect him to be around.

“The reason why I’m stressing that [I'm going to retire] is unless I say that I’m retiring, I cannot nurture the young developers,” Wired reports Miyamoto as saying. “After all, if I’m there in my position as it is, then there’s always kind of a relationship. And the young guys are always kind of in a situation where they have to listen to my ideas. But I need some people who are growing up much more than today.”

It reminds me of the situation many saw Apple as being in-a company deeply reliant on the ideas and talents of Steve Jobs. Now that Jobs is gone, many wonder if the company will continue to be able to produce hit products and services. Miyamoto obviously doesn’t want Nintendo to fall into that same reliance on a few people who won’t always be there to inspire new ideas.

Eric L. Patterson got started via self-publishing game-related fanzines in junior high, and now has one goal in life: making sure EGM has as much coverage of niche Japanese games as can realistically be crammed in. Eric’s also active in the gaming community on a personal level, being an outspoken voice on topics such as equality in gaming and consumer rights. Stalk Eric on Twitter: @Eric_EGM. Meet the rest of the crew.